


Of Ghouls and Coworkers

by dripping_moonlight



Category: Linked Univers (Legend of Zelda) - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe, Four is the cameraman, M/M, not so vague threats, originally an lw, part of the bfu au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:01:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23242924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dripping_moonlight/pseuds/dripping_moonlight
Summary: Four loves his job, really, but this was too much. How was he supposed to feel safe filming when his coworker is a creature straight from hell?
Relationships: Four & Warriors, Warriors/Original Male Character
Comments: 4
Kudos: 35





	Of Ghouls and Coworkers

**Author's Note:**

> Part of an au originally based on bfu but that went off the deep end. I told myself I needed to write less angst, so this came to be? Definitely not angst, but not quite the crack I was setting off to write.

Four was bored to say the least. Sky and Warriors had gone off to do their solitary sessions with their own equipment, meaning they didn't need Four. They still had a few hours left in the abandoned hospital, but his phone was already close to dying and he had forgotten his charger at home. 

He didn't believe in ghosts and ghouls like Sky did, but he could not discount the creepiness the rotting building gave off, especially at such late an hour. There were still hospital beds loitering on this floor, along with rusting medical tools, not to mention the memory of torture Sky said was common when it was active. 

Four sighed. He needed a distraction before he worked himself up into a tizzy. He began toying with the camera, looking through the viewfinder and changing settings that were already calibrated properly. At last, he resolved to get some extra shots of the building--maybe Warriors would find a use for them while editing. After all, his personal camera had a habit of flaking out, and he often needed other material to fill the time. Though Four couldn't fathom why he refused to use a newer camera. 

He began walking around, looking through the camera to try to find the most interesting shot when he heard a strange noise coming from an adjacent room--a chapel, if he remembered correctly. 

Hoping it was just a stray rat, Four began to make his way over. If his memory served him right, the small chapel room had a few large windows which would let in the light of the full moon, and, more importantly, make for a hauntingly beautiful shot. 

Stepping closer, he took hold of the dusty doorknob, making note to avoid touching his face, and giving it a jiggle. Locked. Strange, he thought. The staff of the sanatorium had given them all an initial tour and had made sure all the doors were unlocked, but he couldn't discount the possibility the century old door had gotten jammed. He twisted harder, pushing his entire body into the door until it creaked open.

Finally, the stubborn door gave way to-

Oh what the fuck. 

A devilish creature, humanoid in build, yet lacking  _ something _ stood in front of Four, nearly twice his size in height, and probably thrice his own in strength. It had its back to Four, but he had no doubt it had heard him enter, if the twitch of its ears was anything to go by.

It whispered something in a strange tongue, then threw its arm out, almost as if it were trying to take hold of the shadow on the wall. The shadow....which was squirming and  _ not _ in unison with the body of the Thing. 

It finally turned around. Four tried to step back, but he found his feet glued to the floor in fear. 

"Fuck." It said in a voice so deep it was nearly a pure growl.

That woke Four up. "The power of Hylia compels you!" He had only ever heard the saying in exaggerated TV shows, but it was the only thing that came to mind. It seemed to have an effect, though, as the creature stumbled back, so Four said it again, louder. 

"What the fuck?" It came again, "Four-no. Shut up!" 

He stopped. "How do you know my name?" He shouted at the thing. 

The thing, too, stopped. It leaned in towards Four, but that did nothing to cross the feet of distance between them. It was looking straight at him, red eyes piercing Four's own. 

"Can you not tell who I am?" It said, its voice much deeper than what Four would've expected from what he now saw as a rather slim figure, but still higher than from when it had spoken to the shadow earlier. 

After a few beats of silence, Four managed to stammer out a no.

It smiled gently, or at least it tried to. Its fangs were apparently too big for its mouth, as they impeded it closing its mouth fully, but Four could tell there was an attempt.

"C'mon," it came again, "I know you're smart."

Four laughed a little, though not from fear. The fangs didn't just prevent it from smiling properly, but it also gave the creature a slight lisp. Maybe he wouldn't die tonight. 

As the fear receded, from numbness or courage he didn’t know, Four began to examine the creature in detail. What he had mistaken for an immense figure earlier in his panic, turned out to be a rather small shape, though he could tell there was strength there nonetheless. The size, then, came from its massive wings, currently at ease behind the creature, but not quite tucked in. Its hair was a deep red, lightening at the tips, and it looked soft to the touch. It cascaded over the creature's face in a familiar way, though Four could not quite place where he had seen it before, interrupted only by two giant ram horns, one on each side of its head. The black bone curled around the creature's ears, ending in sharp tips that could certainly pierce through flesh. Four finally zeroed in on the creature's eyes. They looked kind enough, despite being all wrong. The normally white sclera was a murky black, more reminiscent of ocean water at night than clouds, and the iris was an unnatural, luminescent red, almost matching its hair. Overall, however, the creature vaguely resembled-

"Warriors?"

It smiled as best it could. "I knew you could do it. Now, you'll be especially smart if you can keep your mouth shut about this, capiche?"

Four nodded. 

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions, but Sky's going to be done in-" it--no, he--checked his watch, "2 minutes and he'll get worried if he finds us missing. Anything pressing you want answered?"

"Your shirt...?" That's not really what he wanted answered, but it had come out anyway. 

He looked a bit confused. It's backless, see?" He turned around and lifted his wings to allow Four visual access. "It's why I wear flannels."

"I thought it was cause you're gay," Four tried to joke.

He let out a hearty laugh. "That too."

There was a bright light and cracking, making Four shield his eyes. When it stopped, where the creature had been stood Warriors, wearing a backless grey t-shirt, and holding a flannel in his left hand. 

"Let's go, Sky'll be waiting for us." So they went. 

\--

They walked in silence through the corridors of the sanitorium, Four busying himself with the camera, Warriors lightly massaging his jaw. 

"You should consider getting those filed down," Four suggested.

"And what- lose my edge?"

At last they reached the infirmary, where Sky had chosen to do his alone session. Just in time, too, as the door rattled open a few minutes later, and a very pale Sky came out. 

"Did you find anything?" asked Four, though for once in the history of their series he hoped Sky said no. 

"Yeah-I," he let out a shaky breath, "I think I heard something, but I don't know, I'll have to check the recording again later."

Warriors approached the younger man, putting a stabilizing hand on his shoulder, "Worry not, twas but the wind."

Easy for him to say.

Sky shook himself a little, the 'reset' he gave himself after each scare. He pulled out his phone to check the time. "Well, guys, I think we're mostly done. Let’s get some sleep, shall we?" They all nodded, though Four would be sleeping comfortably in the car, far from the haunted building. 

As Sky untangled himself from the portable recording equipment, Four and Warriors grabbed their packs, and began setting them up in the predetermined sleeping area. 

Rushing, Four whispered, "When can we talk about  _ this _ ?"

Warriors took a moment to think, before finally responding, "Come over to my house. You have my address don't you?"

Four nodded as he finished setting up, then turned on his heels and all but ran to the car. Like Sky, he would not be sleeping tonight.

\--

It had been almost two weeks since the incident. Four had been too busy trimming the footage to worry too much about what he saw in the sanitorium, but now that he had finished sending the last of the footage to Warriors for editing, he found himself with excess time to think about it. He hoped he had just been in delirium, somehow, but he had resisted telling even Shadow about what had happened. 

He knew he couldn't leave this thread hanging. If not out of a sense of duty, then out of his own morbid curiosity, but that didn't mean he had to go in unprepared. 

He had called Sun a few days ago, under the guise of a newfound interest, and asked her to teach him a few protective prayers. She had even blessed his water, as a treat, though not without going on a short rant about her theory regarding the humanity of her boyfriend's coworker. Four smiled and nodded along, so she was suspicious too, but didn't say anything.

Equipped with this new knowledge and protection, he hopped on the bus that would take him to Warriors' house at the edges of the city. Maybe this was why he chose to live so far away. 

He walked the last two blocks, hoping the autumn chill would prevent him from slipping into a state of numbness that he was prone to do when he was stressed, or, in this case, anxious. 

He made his way up the driveway, ringing the doorbell, before taking a few respectful steps back. He knew this needed to get done, but he still found himself wishing Warriors wasn’t home, though the cars in the driveway indicated otherwise. 

It took a few minutes for Four to hear any sign of life from inside, but just when he was about to ring again, the door opened and a burly man walked out with Wind in tow. 

"Bye, hon! Bring me some ice cream on the way back!" called Warriors from inside. The man raised an eyebrow at Four, but didn't get the chance to say anything, as Wind interrupted instead.

"Hey, Four! War's inside. He kicked us out when he heard you were-"

"Okay, Wind, let's go." The man--so this was the fabled boyfriend--broke in, and dragged Wind to the car furthest back in the driveway. 

Four took that as an invitation, and so entered the house.

"So..." Four started unceremoniously. 

"Come sit. I reserve the right to not answer if I don't want to, but otherwise ask ahead."

Four approached the living room, choosing the seat farthest from Warriors, closest to the door, and pretended to be thinking, though he had his list of questions well-made. The real question was whether to slowly build up, or to tear off the curiosity band-aid. 

"What are you?" The band-aid it was. 

Warriors laughed lightly, "Never one to waste words, aye. That night, you called me a demon, but that's not quite right. I'm more of a fallen angel, if you will. Though at this point, the difference is minute."

Four nodded. "How old are you?"

"23." Four deadpanned. "Okay, I've been on earth..." he furrowed his eyebrows, looking at the ceiling as if the numbers would appear above, "700 years? Give or take a few decades. Plus the time I spent as an angel...a bit over a thousand?" He looked at Four again, considerably more disappointed than before the math, "Is that really what matters though?" It didn't. 

"Can I see your...other form again?" 

Warriors smiled, "But of course."

That same flashing light as the night in the sanitorium, and the same crunching--oh Din please let those not be his bones--filled the room. When it ended, there sat the same creature that had so scared him. 

Four began to reach out, but just as quickly retracted his hand. 

"You can touch me, it's okay."

So Four stood and approached the divan Warriors sat in. 

"Your voice is deeper." 

Warriors shrugged, "Mik likes it."

"Is that the guy that walked out when I came in?" 

"Yeah, my boyfriend."

"Does he know?"

"I don't have to answer."

Four shut up, focusing instead on the horns. They looked incredibly heavy, yet Warriors did not seem to mind

The silence lasted a few more minutes, until Warriors sneezed, accidentally pushing Four, who reached out to grab onto something, only for his hand to go straight through Warriors' left wing. 

In the darkness of the sanitorium and the fear of the situation, Four hadn't noticed anything wrong, but in the brighter light of artificiality, he finally noticed the wings were not the solid feathers and flesh Four had expected, but more like assembled mist. 

He brought his hand to the "wing" again, only for the mist to part, silhouetting around his hand. He looked up to Warriors, whose smile was no longer natural.

"Like them? They're shadow-wings."

"Oh." Four didn't mean to sound disappointed, but it came out that way regardless. 

Warriors sneezed again, pushing Four away. "So anything else?" His eyes were redder than they were earlier. 

"Yeah...Why?"

Warriors titled his head in confusion, prompting Four to elaborate.

"Why...pretend the ghosts and demons aren't real when you're one of them. What do you want with Sky?" 

Warriors sucked his teeth, "First off, I'm neither a ghost nor a demon, we've been over this. Second off, do you know how I joined the show?" 

Four shook his head. The two had already been together when he had joined the team. 

"He was already doing this little show, with some other guy named Groose, I think. I was working at a ‘haunted hotel' and I had to escort them around the property during their investigation. I saw what he was doing, and I knew the kid was gonna get possessed. I'm protecting him, Four. Protecting you too, but mostly him. You don't try to start conversations with evil entities."

Four tried to take it all in, but in the little research he had done, no evidence suggested the creatures of Demise had pity for humans. 

"So what's the catch?" Because there always had to be one.

"None. Just saw a kid doing stupid shit and I wanted to protect him. I've been here too long to care about demonic decorum."

Warriors sneezed again, harder this time. "Look, if you don't want to believe me, that's fine. I'm not going to stop. But realize that I would never hurt Sky”

  
  
“What were you doing at the sanitorium then?”

“Taking care of some punks. Not to brag, but they know who I am, and as long as I’m near Sky, they won’t get near him. Do I ruin his evidence? Yeah. But no evidence will matter if he’s possessed.”

Four nodded again. A benevolent demon--who would’ve thought. All was silent a few minutes, Four too lost in his mind to notice Warriors observing him intently. 

That is, until he sneezed again. "Have you been talking to Sun?"

Four snapped out of his thoughts. Would he be putting Sun in danger if he told the truth? 

"Look, I’ve some power that I could use to take care of all my problems, if you catch my drift. You're not getting rid of me with some prayer. Let me guess, you've got holy water?" Four conceded. "You'll need more than that. I will admit they still give me crazy allergies though. Imma have to ask you to leave now. Thanks for your company, pal. I'm sure we won't have any problems about this, hm?"

Four shook his head no, before saying goodbye. He stood from his spot, making his way out the door. As he walked back to the bus stop, he planned the route back to Sun and Sky's apartment. Whether they worked fully or not, having some advantage over a potentially evil creature would at least bring him peace of mind. He'd need more prayers and holy water if he wanted to feel even remotely safe in his job.


End file.
